Croatia expects considerable reduction of interference by Italian broadcasters in April

The Italian Ministry of Economic Development has called on Italian broadcasters to voluntarily release the frequencies that cause interference for Croatian broadcasters, securing 50.8 million euros for this purpose, the Croatian Regulatory Authority for Network Industries (HAKOM) said on Wednesday.

"After years of delay, the Italian Ministry of Economic Development has finally adopted a regulation initiating a public call for Italian television content providers to join, between 2 November and 1 December 2015, in the process of voluntarily releasing the broadcasting frequencies that cause interference with TV signals from neighbouring countries. For the implementation of this decision, the Italian Ministry has ensured 50.8 million euros as well as replacement frequencies for providers wishing to continue their broadcasting activity," HAKOM said in a statement.

The regulation is the result of years of efforts by HAKOM to resolve the problem of Italian broadcasters interfering with the reception of Croatian television and radio channels. HAKOM has launched a mechanism at the International Telecommunication Union to settle the interference dispute and, after Croatia joined the European Union in mid-2013, has become actively involved in the Working Group on Cross-Border Coordination within the European Commission's Radio Spectrum Policy Group.

"If the Italian side adheres to the time limits agreed at meetings of the Working Group on Cross-Border Coordination, it can be expected that same-channel interference in the television band will be considerably reduced in April 2016," HAKOM said.

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